


In darkness

by Dhole



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Conditioning, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Mentions of Doctor Usanagi, Prisoner of War, Psychological Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-09-02 17:20:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8676085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dhole/pseuds/Dhole
Summary: A young Legion recruit is volenteered as a test subject. After various outbursts and incidents, the NCR look into correcting his behaviour.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Ive not touched this since September. I have another section already written, but I'll only add it if this fanfuc gets enough interest.

Caius felt nervous.

It was the kind of gut wrenching nausea that one felt after hearing the worst possible news, and knew that they were powerless to do anything about it. He’d ticked badly earlier that morning, shouting cuss words uncontrollably as his lecturer starred in both horror and disgust. He apologised over and over, but he knew it had fallen upon deaf ears.

Now he sat in his cell, twiddling his thumbs anxiously awaiting his scolding from the highest ranking trooper. He had heard them mumbling outside his cell earlier, Caius knew he was in the shit now.

He hated his Tourette’s.

He hates this condition... So Much.

All his ticks did were make the NCR nervous around him. He was treated like an aggressive animal, about to tear off some hands if anyone dared get too close. Caius felt unfairly treated. He was doing exactly as Attila told him, do as they say and be respectful.

“The NCR will help you.” Attila once told him. His mind flashed to how only two days ago he had his family history challenged by one of the guards.

“Were your parents related, legionary?” He had scoffed, when he watched how badly the legionary struggled with the most basic of reading and writing. Caius didn’t understand just how nasty the jibe was at first, it was only when two near by troopers howled with laughter did he feel so dejected and hurt.

Caius tried harder from then on. Determined to prove to them all he wasn’t stupid, that he was just as intelligent as the rest of them.

But...

He never felt he was learning anything. He would fumble and fidget at his desk, unable to focus on the trooper trying to teach him. It was never long until they got that fed up with the legionary he was simply sent back to his cell for the day.

A woman cleared her throat, forcing Caius to look up. As expected it was Lt Boyd, though she was unexpectedly accompanied by two larger troopers. Caius shifted nervously in his seat, but would not speak until spoken too.

Another one of Attila’s ‘tips’.

“Cell 17. This is him.”

Caius felt the larger men eyeing him up and down. He opted to keep his head down at this point.

“Got told we’d be expecting someone a lot bigger, in all honesty.” One of the men commented, scratching under his helmet.

Boyd shook her head as she unlocked the cell door.

“No. This is who they wanted.” Boyd stated, not looking either of the men in eye. “Come on, Caius.” She coaxed, readying the handcuffs as the young legionary approached. “Go with these men. Behave yourself.” She instructed, as the cuffs snapped shut around his wrists.

Caius had grown accustomed to the handcuffs. Every time he had to leave his cell for lessons, or for a counselling session, he had to be cuffed. They even cuffed his ankles together in his lessons! He didn’t think it was necessary, Caius wanted to learn to read. He had no intentions of fleeing.

He was led out of his cell by the cuffs, held tightly by one of the larger of the two men. He had various scars etched along his jawline. Caius wondered how the trooper got them.  As the men led Caius away, Boyd called out to them.

“He’s seventeen! ...He’s seventeen.” She repeated, much quieter the second time. The two troopers simply shrugged, both equally unsure of what the woman meant by sharing that. Regardless, they took him away to the outside of Camp McCarran. Boyd simply watched, shaking her head solemnly.  

* * *

The hallway seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Caius' head spun back and fourth, as he tried to take in every new thing he passed. At one point the trooper growled at him to keep still, that he was giving the trooper a migraine with how much his head was spinning.

“Yer like a lil owl, aint ya?” The trooper hartley laughed, resisting the urge to ruffle the boy's cropped hair. It wasn't wise to ever touch a legionary, they often were riddled with disease and other nasty surprises.

A few more steps and the trooper stopped walking, prompting the legionary to do the same.  They'd stopped in front of a large white door, marked with a clear red St James' cross.  Caius recognised this door, it was the place he was taken when he and Attila surrendered themselves! The Legionary no longer felt nervous, assuming he was being taken for a quick check up with Doctor Usanagi. Caius liked her, she never reacted to his sudden outbursts or uncontrollable twitching and blinking. She had a good understanding of what he was suffering from, often knowing to hand the boy something to fiddle with while she examined him.

“Just through here.” The trooper stated, gently pushing the legionary into the room.

The air in the clinic was fresh and sterile, far easier on the lungs than the muskiness of the corridor they had just exited.  Everything was cleaned to a professional standard and lain out neatly, including surgical tools and various veils filled with liquids Caius couldn't even begin to identify.  The trooper pushed Caius towards the examining table and ordered him to 'hop up'.  As Caius did as he was told, the door opened again and a man in a white lab coat stepped in with a box in his hands.

Caius didn't recognise this man. He was an older Caucasian man, Caius would have guessed at least in his 50s. He held the box securely, like he didn't want the contents to be revealed just yet. The recruit fidgeted nervously as the doctor greeted the troopers and mentioned if Caius was the 'subject' they'd be testing this on.

He didn't know what 'this' meant exactly, he prayed it wasn't hinting at the chemicals kept in the glass veils.

“Yup. This is him.” The taller trooper confirmed. “Cell 16, the one with aggressive behavioural issues.”

The doctor looked Caius up and down, before gently gripping the boy's jaw and craning his head to get a better look at his face. He examined the boy's eyes, ears and shone a torch up his nose. He seemed happy that Caius had no underlying illness, with the exception of a improperly healed nose.

“Alright, what's your name?” The doctor asked, addressing Caius for the first time during the check up.

“It's uh- Caius. Caius, sir.” The boy stammered. The 'sir' slipped out as a force of habit when addressing another man.  The doctor nodded, it was one of the more unusual Legion names he'd come across.

“Very well, 'Caius'.” He started, letting go of the boy's jaw and stepping back to the box he had entered with. “I assume you're pretty aware of your behaviour issues?”

“Me what?” Caius blinked.

“When you... Start to swear and react harshly to the most simplest of situations. Those are behaviour issues that you posses. It's clearly some form of aggressive Tourette’s syndrome that you suffer from”  He began to explain as the box was opened. “We've been...experimenting with a device that could condition you to...” He rolled his wrist, trying to think of a way to explain this to such a dim-witted child. “To not swear, spit and blink like that.” He pointed to the recruit, who quickly squeezed his wrist, trying to control the rapidly blinking right eye. “It works a little like this.”

The device was removed from the container and Caius froze in horror as it was presented to him.

* * *

Collar.

It was a bomb collar. Almost identical to what he'd seen locked around the throats of the men and women the Legion would enslave. He whimpered, slowly backing up on the table. He thought of running, making a break for it before they could attempt to put that collar on him.  

“Now... I know this looks like a bomb collar. Let me assure you, Caius, that is not.”

Caius didn't feel any more reassured, instead, he went to jump off the examining table. However, the troopers predicted his move pattern before he could budge an inch. His arms were grabbed tightly, holding the boy in place as the doctor came closer with the terrifying device.  “It does go around your throat but it's a comfortable fit. Once it's attached, it begins monitoring your pulse. When your pulse rate rises, say you're feeling angry as a result of a 'tick' … The collar gives a small, almost painless shock, to remind you that-”

“No!” Caius screamed, thrashing against the trooper's who held him. He came close to breaking free, yanking an arm out of the man's grasp. It was a short lived victory, as he was re-secured in a flash. Muscular arms held gripped his own tightly, while the second trooper held his head to secure in him a fixed position. Exposing his neck.

“Hold him steady!” The doctor barked. The troopers did well to hold the thrashing, twisting recruit. He screamed and barked, random words of no relevance were screeched as the Legionary sobbed miserably. “Easy. Just relax.” The doctor soothed, as the device was fitted, then locked tightly around the Legionnaire's throat.

The moment it clicked shut, the red light on the collar illuminated. Caius' tearful eyes widened, it was stuck on him. He would never get this thing off.

Never.

Caius panicked. He instantly began his struggle again, kicking and pulling against his captors.

“Get off me!! Get- off! Tin! Ever! Flag! Get off me!!” He cried, his thrashing became more and more aggressive, as he landed a well placed kick into one of the men's guts. He twisted again, desperate for freedom.

That was when it happened. A sharp, painful sensation around his throat. It was harsh, enough to make the recruit yelp loudly and collapse onto the floor below. Caius lay whimpering, not daring to get up again as he clung onto the device that caused the shock.

“Well...” He heard the doctor breath from above him. “That was exactly how it operates. Immediately defuses any aggression the wearer is experiencing. You should probably move him to a more confined cell for a few days, let him get used to his device. He'll more than likely kick up a fuss when left on his own.”

The recruit felt himself be dragged away. He didn't dare open his eyes, only continuing to grip the torture device tightly and whimper quietly to himself.

Caius soon passed out from sheer exhaustion.

**

He woke up to darkness, making him unsure if he had woken up at all. The floor against his cheek felt cold, cold like steel. It had a similar feel to his cell, but Caius knew this wasn't his own cell. Even at the darkest hours of the night, his cell had light filtering through the bars and noise was always apparent. The thud of a trooper patrolling close by could always be heard.

But this dark, horrible place ...Was so quiet. Caius called out, hoping for someone to answer. A trooper, anybody to answer his call.

Nothing but deadly silence answered.

Caius whimpered and pulled his knees to his chest. Terror was all he felt now, a pressure built in his chest constricting his breathing. He twitched and made wheezing noises, feeling completely helpless as his body was subjected to tick after tick.

The collar sent a painful surge into him. 

His head jerked painfully, straining his already aching neck. Caius cried out in pain, his finger nails raking down his cheek as his chocked back a sob. This was horrible. He didn't want to be here. He'd apolgoise to the doctor, he's apologise to the trooper. He'd wear his collar, he'd do as he's told. Anything to get out of this dark, isolated place.

“Please... Someone...” The child whimpered. “Someone get me outtah here!” 

Noise! He heard something shifting, a moving of gears. Then, the steel door swung open and a flash light shone onto the boy’s freckled face. Caius squinted, shielding his eyes. Being in such darkness has affected his eyes, conditioning them to much darker conditions already.

“Keep it down.” The trooper growled. “You need the bathroom, it’s to your left.” He shone the torch over, eliminating a grotty looking toilet. Caius cringed, even Nelson’s toilets were far cleaner than that. 

“E-Excuse- LATIN! Excuse m-me?” Caius stuttered, mentally cursing himself for ticking. “W-w-why am I ere?”

The torch flicked back to Caius’ face, then dipped down to his collar. 

“I’ve no clue. But, judging by that thing round your neck? They had damn good reason to lock you up.”

“But I aint done nothin’!!” Caius exclaimed. It was a sudden burst of both anger and fear, as if he saw red. Before he knew it, he’d advanced on the guard and grabbed onto the trooper’s armor. “Ya can’t keep me down ere! Please!”

The troopers shouted, swung his fist and clocked Caius right in the jaw. The Legionary fell on his backside with a pained groan. The collar provided a second dose of pain, as it triggered a third electric shock. Caius yelped, throwing his body to the side as he twisted in agony.

A scamper of boots and soon a second trooper joined the guard by the cell’s door. 

“What the hell is going on?!” The woman demanded. “You’re going to set all of these savages off!”

“This freak straight up attacked me!’ The trooper protested, brushing his chest where he had been allegedly ‘assaulted’. 

The female trooper looked down at the sorry sight before her. A legionary, no younger than eighteen from the look of him, lay whimpering and clutching a device locked tight around his throat. This was the ferocious attacker? She couldn’t help but scoff. “Yeah. I can see the blood crazed look in his eyes.” She commented, as she grabbed a legionaries’ leg and began dragging him back into the dark cell. “You’d think they’d light these cells up a little better...” She spoke with raised brows. She had never seen a cell so dark. “It can’t be good for someone to sit in damned darkness for hours on end...”

The door slammed shut and darkness enveloped the boy once more. 


End file.
